Liquor store robbery suspect killed in shoot-out
—Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD A Ponderay Police vehicle races to the scene of a shooting incident which ended with the death of a robbery suspect.
PONDERAY — An armed man was shot to death by police Monday after allegedly robbing a state liquor store in the Bonner Mall and leading officers on a high-speed chase.
The pursuit ended in gunfire on Colburn Culver Road shortly before 2 p.m. The suspect’s identity was being withheld until notifications to family have been made.
The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office released few details about the incident, which is being investigated by Idaho State Police. Neither agency was willing on Monday to confirm preliminary reports concerning what had transpired.
Ponderay Police also declined to comment on the incident. A message left with Chief Mike Hutter was not returned on Monday.
Sheriff’s officials said the incident began unfolding at about 1:45 p.m., when the suspect committed a robbery at the liquor store and fled northbound on U.S. Highway 95. The pursuit continued onto Colburn Culver Road, where the suspect was stopped and shots were fired.
Sheriff’s officials declined to elaborate any further.
A source with knowledge of the incident stated the middle-aged suspect was apparently armed with a small-caliber handgun and opened fire on police as he emerged from the Chevrolet Blazer he was driving. Police returned fire and the suspect was killed.
The source requested anonymity because he’s not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
No officers were injured in the shooting.
Initial reports indicated the suspect threatened a liquor store clerk with some type of weapon and fled with at least two bottles of liquor. Ponderay Police officers began following the suspect, who tried to shake his pursuers on Kootenai Cutoff Road.
Sheriff’s deputies joined the chase and it ultimately moved onto the highway. A spike strip was placed across the route near Woods X-Y Ranch, but the suspect reportedly managed to avoid it. The suspect allegedly rammed a police vehicle during the pursuit, which ended about a half a mile from the county’s waste collection site.
“We’re going to do the criminal investigation to make sure everything was taken care of right,” said ISP Lt. Chris Scheck.